How Does the Us Influence Estonia

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How does the United States influence Estonia? Fluctuations in Estonia’s status as an independent country have had significant impact on the amount of influence from other countries, whether it is the language, eating habits or lifestyle. But how has United States influenced Estonia after we gained our independence? Firstly, language is unquestionably an integral part of culture and through language people recognise their national identity. Until the 20th century, our mother tongue was most influenced by German. During the first half of 20th century, Estonian was closer to Finnish and the second half of 20th century was dominated by Russian language influences. In the 21th century, however, Estonian has been stoutly impacted by English. Some people are very protective and resolute about preserving Estonian language with its linguistic diversity just as it is without any foreign influences. However, I don’t personally think that English influence will jeopardise our mother tongue, because a language never stays exactly the same, it develops and expans. Another factor worth mentioning is how US culture has changed the eating habits of estonians. There is a lot of fast food restaurants and junk food like french fries, hamburgers, soft drinks etc in Estonia. Fot a lot of people it has become a quick and cheap alternative to home-cooked meals. Estonia placed third in the EU for the proportion of obese women in 2011, which is the aftermath of the change in eating habits. Furthermore, another aspect of strong influence from America on us is the internet. I personally can’t imagine my life withou it. One can search the web and get the answers in an instant. The internet has helped to create many Estonian companies. It guides the way we create documents, send e-mail and exchange information in a multitude of different ways. Estonia is without a doubt influenced
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